Health News – 16 Dec 2014
Overview
- A $13 million aeromedical base for the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) including a new medical precinct where all members of retrieval services will eventually be based will be built at Adelaide Airport.
- A Perth mother has told a coronial inquest into her toddler’s death she would never forgive herself for not insisting he be admitted to hospital after the family was twice sent home.
- Unions and the Tasmanian Government are blaming each other for a disability support provider going into voluntary administration.
News on Health Professional Radio. Today is the 16th December 2014. Read by Rebecca Foster. Health News
A $13 million aeromedical base for the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) including a new medical precinct where all members of retrieval services will eventually be based will be built at Adelaide Airport.
RFDS chief executive John Lynch said the base would include a six-aircraft hangar, an enhanced patient care facility with private bays and a corporate office.
“We’ll have greater access and facilities for our storage, our maintenance, our response times and our access,” Mr Lynch said.
“Once MedStar join us in the precinct, then we’ve got every right to believe that our capacity and our service will be delivered in a more timely fashion.”
He said the RFDS would take delivery of an extra aircraft in May next year.
Health Minister Jack Snelling said the new precinct for all medical retrievals meant the quality of health care for regional South Australians would be the same as for those living in Adelaide.
He said the Ambulance Service’s Medstar team would relocate to Adelaide Airport, a move that would save seven to nine minutes of travel time for medical teams.
“It’s going to bring together teams who are responsible for delivering some of the most important health care in our state, making sure that South Australians who live in regional areas can be confident they are going to get the health care they need,” Mr Snelling said.
“We’ve seen some very nasty incidents happen in regional South Australia in recent weeks and we’ve relied on the services of both MedStar and the Royal Flying Doctor Services to ensure that people who are seriously injured or ill can be evacuated and brought to Adelaide to get the health care they need.”
Preparation for construction of the facility has started at the greenfields site adjacent the airport’s main runway.
It is expected to open in mid-2016.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-15/perth-toddler-death-inquest-family-twice-turned-away/5968312
A Perth mother has told a coronial inquest into her toddler’s death she would never forgive herself for not insisting he be admitted to hospital after the family was twice sent home.
Christopher Tao, 2, developed a temperature in September 2010 and had swelling on his neck, a rash and headaches.
His mother Claudia Ling, who is a nurse, told the WA Coroner’s Court she was sure her son would be admitted to Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) on their second visit there.
She said she was very disappointed when staff told the family to return home.
“I will never ever forgive myself … I should have insisted,” she said.
“Never would you think your child would die or something serious.
“We tried to believe them, tried to think they are right.
“I went there twice, sent back twice … We lost confidence.”
Ms Ling had worked as a nurse in China before she and her husband – who is a doctor – moved to Perth, where they both got jobs at hospitals.
She told the inquest she took her son to the family doctor the day after they were turned away from PMH for the second time.
The doctor believed the child had measles and told Ms Ling not to worry.
The following day, Christopher was found unconscious in his bed and later died from a heart infection.
The inquest continues.
Unions and the Tasmanian Government are blaming each other for a disability support provider going into voluntary administration.
Disability support provider Liviende Incorporated employs about 70 direct care workers, mostly in the north of the state.
Last week, the Fair Work Commission dismissed an appeal by Liviende against a finding that some staff were being paid the wrong award rate.
The Health and Community Services Union state secretary Tim Jacobson said Liviende has now gone into voluntary administration.
“The sad fact is that the State Government hadn’t funded this organisation to maintain its staffing structure in a way that it could afford,” he said.
“And clearly, this is not a pay claim.
“This is a claim that relates to essentially a wrong classification that was applied to the work of individuals.”
In a statement, a government spokeswoman said the situation is the outcome of unions choosing higher pay over retaining jobs.
The spokeswoman said the Department of Health and Human Services has a plan to make sure services continue and will work with the administrator on transitional arrangements.
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